Watch Aerosmith Close MTV’s VMAs with Post Malone

Aerosmith closed MTV’s 2018 Video Music Awards ceremony last night (Aug. 20) with a two-song set featuring rapper Post Malone. The performance began with Malone delivering his track “Rockstar” before a stage extension descended from the ceiling. “Ladies and gentlemen, fucking Aerosmith!” Malone said, before grabbing his guitar and joining Steven Tyler’s outfit for “Dream On” and “Toys in the Attic.”

In a show that appears to be receiving mixed reviews across the web, the close-out did seem to suffer from a level of misdirection. The performers themselves can be seen with doubtful or at least thoughtful expressions at times, and Tyler appears to physically direct Joe Perry and Malone on occasions.

One moment saw Perry pushing his guitar into a clearly pre-prepared hole in an amplifier, which then began pumping out stage-prop smoke. Vox described the performance as “a strange cherry on top of the cake.” You can watch the whole segment below, with Aerosmith arriving around 2.20:

It’s been 30 years since Aerosmith revamped their career with the version of “Walk This Way” created in collaboration with Run-DMC. Before the VMAs, a Blast TV crew took the opportunity to use the fact as a line of questioning for the band. While Tyler ignored all attempts to engage with him, Perry replied to a question about who might participate in a new version of “Walk This Way,” saying: “You know what, I’m not sure. Now that you mention it, Post is really good. But I don’t know, there’s so many great ones out there now.”

Asked the same question, drummer Joey Kramer said: “I don’t know – maybe Post.” On the point of a potential future collaboration with the rapper, singer and songwriter, he replied: “I can’t tell you that,” and offered the same answer to a query about Malone making a guest appearance at Aerosmith’s 2019 Las Vegas residency. He continued: “I can tell you that it’ll be great. We’re coming back with a vengeance. We have new management, we have a new lease on life.”

Meanwhile, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who’s known Aerosmith for decades, shared some words of praise in an interview with HardDrive Radio, saying: “Aerosmith is the kind of band that young bands need to look at, 'cause they're one of the last real ones around. There's such a natural feel that they have and just a certain kind of swagger that just comes with the combination of people. And everything they do is what's coming out of their instruments — it's not taped or fucking phoned in. So it's definitely a good example of what rock and roll is all about.”